CSI: LA: Take it on the Otherside
by almathea
Summary: Tobias talks to a dead guy, and things just get stranger from there. Rating for language. Just LA, independent from Vegas.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Well, I own pretty much everything, except for, I guess, the basic premise of CSI, and the city of Los Angeles, plus the Chili Peppers' song "Otherside". All characters and plotlines are mine. As far as I know, all the locations and what-not are from my own mind. I've never even been to LA, so I know NOTHING.

A/N: This can be read as either a sequel to CSI: Los Angeles, or as a stand-alone. There are no references to events of the first story. However, if you haven't read it already, I would suggest reading it first, because it introduces the characters and stuff. Oh, and I got the lyrics of the Net. If they're wrong… sorry.

**CSI: LA: Take It On The Otherside**

_How long, how long will I slide  
Separate my side, I don't  
I don't believe it's bad  
Slit my throat  
It's all I ever _

_I heard your voice through a photograph  
I thought it up it and brought up the past  
Once you know you can never go back  
I've got to take it on the otherside _

_Centuries are what it meant to me  
A cemetery where I marry the sea  
Stranger things could never change my mind  
I've got to take it on the otherside  
Take it on the otherside  
Take it on  
Take it on _

_How long, how long will I slide  
Separate my side, I don't  
I don't believe it's bad  
Slit my throat  
It's all I ever_

_Pour my life into a paper cup  
The ashtray's full and I'm spillin' my guts  
She wanted to know am I still a slut  
I've got to take it on the otherside _

_Scarlet starlet and she's in my bed  
A candidate for my soul mate bled  
Push the trigger and pull the thread  
I've got to take it on the otherside  
Take it on the otherside  
Take it on  
Take it on _

_How long, how long will I slide  
Separate my side, I don't  
I don't believe it's bad  
Slit my throat  
It's all I ever_

_Turn me on take me for a hard ride  
Burn me out leave me on the otherside  
I yell and tell it that  
It's not my friend  
I tear it down I tear it down  
And then it's born again _

_How long, how long will I slide  
Separate my side, I don't  
I don't believe it's bad  
Slit my throat  
It's all I ever_

_How long, I don't  
__I don't believe it's bad  
Slit my throat  
It's all I ever _

**Chapter 1**

It was a Tuesday night, and an ordinary robbery investigation. Anthony and Tobias, along with two cops, were checking out the convenience store where it had happened. Anthony was questioning the shaken cashier while Tobias headed outside to check the perimeter for signs of the getaway.

As he was taking a closer look at some tire tracks, a panicked figure came running from a nearby alley. It was a young man with shaggy blond hair. Tobias estimated that he was probably about his own age, maybe a little younger.

"Please… come… help…" he pointed breathlessly to the alley from which he had just appeared.

Tobias stared at him. "What happened?"

The young man didn't answer, he just turned and ran back into the alley. Tobias started to follow, unholstering his sidearm as he ran.

When he entered the alley, the man had disappeared, but Tobias could see something behind a dumpster. He cautiously approached it, half afraid that it was going to jump out and bite him. However, it didn't move at all. As he moved around the dumpster he saw that it was a human corpse. His jaw dropped when closer inspection revealed it to be the same young man he had just seen.

About two minutes later, Anthony had joined him, after Tobias had called him, almost unable to form a coherent sentence. One of the cops that had been present at the robbery scene was now roaming around the new scene, waiting for the coroner to arrive.

Anthony turned to Tobias. "You sure that's the guy you saw?"

Tobias nodded. His eyes were still riveted to the DB. Had he imagined the whole thing? That didn't seem very likely, but he knew there was something _very_ wrong here, outside the normal wrongness of a homicide.

Before long, the coroner arrived. Dr. Josephine Mackintosh had been coroner for the LA crime lab for several years, so she knew the investigators pretty well.

"Hey guys. What do have here tonight?"

"Looks like a homicide," Anthony told her as she headed over to the body.

She nodded. "It's a through and through. Looks like he bled out." She gestured to the gunshot wound in the abdomen. "Would've taken quite a while. Poor guy." She looked at the pool of blood around the DB. "Hey Anthony. What does this look like to you?"

He looked where she was pointing. There was an unnatural void in the blood. "Looks like something was there."

"Or someone." They both jumped when Tobias spoke up behind them. He had moved forward and was now looking over Anthony's shoulder.

Anthony pondered this. "So… the killer stood over him while the blood pooled… then what?"

They all turned to look at the ground around the blood pool. Sure enough, there was a footprint leading away with a bloody rim. Anthony raised his eyebrows and started to follow the trail. It led out the other side of the alley and around the corner. It continued down the sidewalk for a while, until it seemed that the owner of the foot suddenly realized that the blood was there and had wiped it off on a patch of grass.

"Well?" He jumped again when Tobias suddenly appeared at his side. He gestured at the grass. "The trail ends here. How's Jo doing with the body?"

"Um… she said the time of death was most likely only a little while ago. No more than hour, probably."

Anthony nodded and started to head back to the main part of the scene. He intended to photograph those footprints. Hopefully they could get _something_ out of them.

Tobias remained where he was, just staring at the end of the trail. Suddenly he was aware of someone standing next to him. He looked up to see the young man he had seen behind the convenience store, and then in the alley, dead. He turned to say something to Anthony, but he had already turned the corner back into the alley. So, he just stared at the figure in front of him. He looked alive enough.

"Uh… hi. Who are you?" he asked warily.

"Name's Darien Hayward." It didn't seem that he was going to volunteer any more information than that.

"Oh. OK. So… what brings you to… this area?"

"You have to help me. You have to find the man who murdered me."

Tobias stared at him as this sank in. "I have to _what?_"

"Please, we don't have much time."

"Time before what?"

"Before he kills again."

Tobias felt a chill run down his spine, even though the evening was fairly warm.

"Um, OK. But you'll have to help _me_ out. What happened here?" he gestured back to the alley. "Who was he? Why did he do it?"

Darien shook his head. "I don't know who he was or why he did it. All I know is he approached me as I was on my way home. I took a short cut through the alley, and I guess he was following me. he said, um, 'face me like a man' or something like that. So, I turned around, and he shot me in the gut. No explanation or anything. Then the crazy son-of-a-bitch just stood over me while I bled to death."

Tobias heard something behind him, and turned around to see Anthony standing at the end of the alley. He quickly turned back around to Darien, but he was gone. He opened his mouth to say something, but it was like his brain had abruptly decided to go on vacation. He gave up and started walking back toward Anthony. The senior CSI just gave him a funny look before updating Tobias on the case.

"We got an ID. Darien—"

"Hayward," Tobias said absently.

Anthony stared at him like he had grown a second head before continuing. "Yeah. He was only 28."

Tobias stared at the air over Anthony's shoulder. "He stood over him. Stood there as he died."

"What? Who? The killer? Who is he?"

Tobias just looked at him like _he_ had said something utterly ridiculous. "I don't know _who _he is, I just know he did it."

"Ah… that's _very_ helpful… how do you know this?"

"He told me." He was starting to realize how insane he must sound right then.

"Who? The killer?" Anthony asked, desperate for any information.

Tobias shook his head. "No. Darien Hayward."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Tobias sat in the break room alone, just staring at his sandwich like he expected it to do a trick. He tipped it from side to side, examining all its little sandwich idiosyncrasies. He heard footsteps behind him and jumped about a foot and a half off his seat. He looked behind him very slowly and cautiously. Rebekah was staring at him like he'd lost his mind.

"You OK?" she asked, casting a curious glance at his now slightly squeezed sandwich.

"Uh, yeah. I'm fine," he replied, trying to reshape his sandwich into its ordinary form.

"You sure? Did something happen… at a scene…?

He stared at her for a moment. "Did Anthony tell you?"

"He may have… hinted at it."

"It… I'm fine. It was nothing." God, he was a pathetic liar, and he knew it.

Rebekah sat down next to him and leaned in like she was going to divulge a secret.

"Do you see dead people?" she whispered.

Without warning, Tobias jumped up and backed away from her.

"You think I'm… No. I'm not out of my tree!" he almost yelled as he backed into the opposite wall, still clutching his sandwich. She seemed almost at a loss for words.

"What? No, that's not… What I meant…" She didn't get a chance to finish because Tobias quickly left the room, finally taking a bite of his sandwich.

He didn't know where he was going, he just kept walking down the halls of the crime lab, greedily eating his sandwich. He headed down a back hallway, that led to the locker room and such. He turned a corner as he shoveled in the last morsels of ham and bread, and walked straight into Darien Hayward. He wished he had listened all those years to 'chew your food!' because now he pretty much inhaled what he had been trying to swallow.

Darien just stood there watching as Tobias made strange squeaky noises, and with one final peculiar, inhuman guttural sound, swallowed the offending food and looked up.

"What do you want?"

"You said you'd help me."

"Yes, well, I have absolutely _nothing_ to go on here."

"I know where he's going to strike next."

"You do? How? Where?"

"I don't know how, it's just like a video clip. I see him coming up behind someone with a knife. He grabs her… and it ends. That's all I know."

"OK. Exactly where and when is this supposed to take place?"

Darien closed his eyes in concentration. "Um… it's on a sidewalk in front of… a warehouse or a garage. There's a street sign… on the corner. Uh… 3rd Avenue. Can't read the cross street. Time? Uh, well, it's dark outside, I'd say, 10 or 11."

"So what do I do, stake out some sidewalk for the next week?"

Darien shook his head. "Not all week. Tonight."

Tobias' eyes widened. "Tonight? That doesn't leave me a lot of time to prepare, now does it."

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that. I've only known for about half an hour. Then I had to wait for you to get yourself alone. People would think you were crazy if they saw you talking to the air."

"I'm pretty sure they already think I'm nuts. Why is it that I can see you anyway?"

"No idea. As I was dying I was wishing I could run for help, so I guess when I finally kicked off, my mind took off with it." He gave Tobias a little smile. "I guess you're just the lucky one I found first."

Tobias was about to say something in response when Rebekah came around the corner, and the vision of the murdered man vanished.

"Hey, there you are. I've been looking all over for you. I didn't mean that you were crazy, I just… OK, I'm not sure what I meant. But I'm sorry, OK?"

Tobias nodded absentmindedly. He had to find that street corner.

* * *

It was 9:43 p.m. Tobias was sitting in the trace evidence lab, looking over some bits of stuff from the robbery the night before. He _really_ needed to be somewhere else. He had to get out of here, and find a warehouse on 3rd Avenue. He kept looking at his watch nervously. Anthony walked by and poked his head in for a second.

"How's it coming?"

"Uh… fine. Hey Anthony, wait a sec," he said as Anthony started to leave. "Um… I have something _really_ important I have to do. You mind if I finish this up… later?"

The senior CSI studied him, noting the seriousness in his expression. "Yeah, go ahead. Just… stay out of trouble."

Tobias jumped up and almost hugged him. Then he thought better of it. "Thanks. A lot." Then he ran out the door.

In no time he was cruising along 3rd Avenue. He was about to give up when he spotted a rundown building with a faded sign proclaiming "Bo's Auto Repair". He quickly pulled into an alley across the street. He got out of his car and sat in the shadows just inside the alley. Now all he could do was wait, and pray that this was the right place.

After about twenty-five minutes, he was afraid he had the wrong spot, and was about to leave when he saw a woman walking alone down the sidewalk in front of the garage. He crept forward out of his hiding place. He quickly jogged across the street.

"Excuse me, ma'am…" She looked at him like he was the one about to kill her.

"You…stay back, I've got mace…you'll be sorry…"

Tobias shook his head. "No ma'am, don't do that. But you need to come with me… you're in dang—" He was cut off by her shrill scream.

"Rape!"

"No ma'am, you don't understand…" He glanced behind her and saw a shadowy figure approaching. "Now seriously ma'am, you need to come—"

"Back!" she screamed, and swung her purse with unexpected force.

THWACK!

The purse, which seemed to have an entire rock quarry in it, connected with the side of Tobias' head, sending him to the ground in a crumpled heap.

"That'll teach you, damned pervert." The woman turned around, straight into a tall, darkly dressed figure, who pulled out a long knife and slit her throat before she could even scream.

* * *

Consciousness slowly returned to Tobias, and with it came an intense throbbing in his head. He groaned as he opened his eyes and rolled over. He found himself face-to-face with the woman he had tried to save, only now her eyes were empty and there was a large pool of blood pouring from her carotid.

"Ah, shit."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Anthony headed to a new crime scene as soon as the 911 call came in. The caller had remained anonymous, but Anthony had this sinking feeling…

As he arrived at the scene, his suspicions were confirmed as he saw Tobias leaning against a cop car while an EMT tried to examine his head. He kept pushing her away and trying to watch what was going on with the investigation. Tobias jumped as he heard a familiar voice behind him.

"You can imagine that this won't look too good for us."

"Anthony! Hey, it's not what it look like! I tried to help her, tried to stop this from happening… I don't even have a knife!" Tobias finally fought his way free of the EMT and hurried towards Anthony, who took one look at the trickle of blood running down his forehead and ushered him back into the EMT's grasp.

Anthony sighed. "Just calm down. _I'm _not accusing you of anything. Did you see anything?"

Tobias shook his head as best he could with the EMT holding his head still while she tried to position a butterfly bandage. "I just saw someone coming, then it was POW lights out."

Anthony glanced over to where Josephine was examining the body, then nodded slightly. "I probably should have done this before… you're on forced vacation until further notice. As soon as you've been checked out, I want you to go home and just… stay there. Okay?"

Tobias nodded, and after receiving a shooing motion from the EMT, he headed across the street to where he had left his car. Anthony watched him go, and when he had driven off, he walked over to Josephine.

"So, what've we got?"

She pointed to the victim's purse. "There's probably an ID in there. Time of death was less than an hour ago. Cause of death was exsanguination, from the severing of the carotid artery."

Anthony surveyed the area. "From the arterial spray, it looks like she was facing her killer, who is going to have some serious laundry to do." He knelt down by her purse, and carefully poked through it until he found a wallet. He picked it up and opened it. California driver's license. Renee MacNamara, age 37.

* * *

As soon as Tobias reached his apartment, he had the feeling that he should be somewhere else, but he didn't know where. He started pacing his living room, for a lack of anything better to do. As he turned for another lap around the coffee table, he found himself face-to-face with Darien Hayward.

"Gah! Can you not do that! Why don't you fade in subtly and give me some heads-up!"

"Sorry," Darien said, but didn't look all that sorry.

"What do you want? I tried to save the girl, and that didn't work out too well, now did it?"

"There will be more," Darien said, suddenly and cryptically.

"Huh? More? Who, when?"

"I don't have details, but I have a feeling that this is far from over."

Tobias looked at him skeptically. "You've got a feeling? And I'm supposed to go by that… why?"

Darien regarded him for a moment. "I'm dead. I shouldn't be having feelings at all, of any kind."

Tobias turned and headed for the kitchen. "I can't help you anymore. I'm on forced vacation."

"Are you really going let that stop you from doing the right thing?"

Tobias spun around to face him, pointing an accusing finger angrily. He took a deep breath, ready to give this apparition what-for. Then he dropped his hand. "No."

* * *

Back at the lab, everyone who was available was working to piece together the two murders. They seemed to have nothing in common, except for the fact that Tobias had been at both scenes. The MO's were different, the victims had never met each other, they didn't have any mutual friends or enemies, and they lived in completely different parts of the city.

Vivian had been contacting their families and friends for the past several hours to try to find a connection. Rebekah and Anthony were going through all the evidence again, hoping to find some kind of clue that would lead them to the killer. As it was, they had only one suspect, but neither wanted to say it.

Finally, Rebekah couldn't stand it any longer. "Hey Anthony," she began, thoughtfully. "There's no way Tobias could have done it, right?"

"Evidentially speaking, it's possible. He was on a break getting dinner around Hayward's time of death, right before we were called to the robbery scene, and he was admittedly at the second scene at the time of the murder. But, knowing Tobias like I do… No, there's no way he could have done it."

"But that won't hold up in court, will it?" Rebekah asked, fully knowing the answer.

"No, it won't."

* * *

Two days later, no progress had been made on the case, and Tobias was getting really tired of playing computer solitaire. He decided to head a few blocks over to grab a late lunch. He was just about to walk into the little diner when he was distracted by a blur of motion beside him.

There was Darien, looking as out-of-breath as possible for someone who wasn't breathing. "Come on… now… quick." Then he continued running down the street, much as he had when they had first met.

"Dude, what the hell!" Tobias yelled apparently at no one, earning him a few strange looks from passersby. Then he took off after Darien, who turned once again down an alley.

In his haste, Tobias ran smack into a middle-aged man in a sweater and tie, who looked like he might be a professor, or maybe a therapist.

"Hold on there, son, where's the fire?" he asked calmly as he held Tobias by the shoulders, holding him in place. "You need to calm down, there."

"Uh, sir, don't… I have to…" Tobias stuttered as he tried to extricate himself from Dr. Tranquillity's grip. He took a breath and started over. "I'm sorry, sir, I'm kind of in a hurry." With that, he made his escape and headed down the alley, where Darien stood, pointing around the back of one of the buildings.

He skittered around the corner in time to see a figure dressed in black deliver a final blow with a crowbar to a man who lay twitching on the ground. The killer, whose back was to Tobias, turned and looked over his shoulder as he heard the approaching footsteps. Then he turned and ran in the opposite direction. Tobias ran after him, until he turned down another side street and disappeared. Tobias headed back to the newest victim. He searched for a pulse in vain, but that was to be expected from someone who had several deep dents in their skull.

Tobias stood up with the intention of calling the police when his thoughts were interrupted by a scream. He looked up at the horrified woman who had wandered past the end of the alley, then back down at his blood covered hands.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: We've been through this, you know what's mine and what isn't. I don't know if there's a Fairview Mental Hospital anywhere near LA.

**Chapter 4**

Before he knew what was going on, the whole alley was filled with cops. _They're gonna think that I did it_, he thought. He started to panic as a cop tried to cuff him, he had to clear his name somehow…

"It wasn't me! A dead guy told me it would happen! I tried to stop it!"

He looked around wildly, his eyes finally landing on Darien, who was shaking his head. "Bad idea," he muttered.

"Hey!" Tobias shouted at a patch of empty space. "You shut up! This is your fault, you know. Why couldn't you stop him yourself!"

That outburst didn't help to prove his sanity in the slightest. As he was being man-handled toward a squad car, he saw Anthony and Josephine heading toward the body. Anthony looked toward the commotion, and upon seeing Tobias, muttered defeatedly, "Shit."

"Anthony!" Tobias yelled, though his voice was approaching a shriek. "You tell 'em, Hayward told me!"

In response, Anthony hurried over and, pinning Tobias against the squad car, hissed in his ear, "You need to shut up, _now_, or you're going to get yourself in even more trouble."

Tobias was locked into the back of the car, while Anthony surveyed the scene. After about twenty minutes, he returned to where several policemen were gathered.

"The murder weapon is missing," he told the cops, "so he couldn't have killed him. However," Anthony ran a weary hand through his hair, "I want him committed for observation."

* * *

Tobias grew more and more confused during his ride in the squad car. They weren't going to the police station, but they weren't letting him go, either. Where the hell were they taking him?

He felt both more and less confused as they pulled into the drive of Fairview Mental Hospital. He leaned forward as much as he could. "Uh, guys, what're we doing here?"

They didn't answer, just escorted him into the building, where they uncuffed him. One of the cops stood by him, with a firm grip on his arm, while the other talked to a guy in a white coat. Tobias looked around. The front doors were only about 20 feet away. He could make it if he tried. Without giving it a second thought, he jerked his left arm free, and swung his elbow up to catch his guard in the jaw. Then he spun to the right and bolted for the front door. Freedom was only a second away when a huge hulking orderly stepped into his path. He didn't have time to stop or slow down, so he ran straight into the orderly. He had about as much effect as if he had just hit a brick wall. He momentum was reflected back at him, and he found himself on his back on the floor.

Tobias tried to get up, but was soon pinned down by the orderly while lab-coat guy came over with a syringe and injected something into his arm.

* * *

"Ok, so we're going to review what we know," Vivian announced to the assembled group, which consisted of just Anthony and Rebekah. "Three murders, somehow connected. First, Darien Hayward, 28, shot. Second, Renee MacNamara, 37, throat cut. And now, Ethan Lambert, 52, blunt force trauma, probably from a crowbar or something similar. So, what do they have in common?"

"Tobias," Rebekah said quietly.

"Anything else?" Vivian asked hopefully.

"There must be," Anthony said suddenly. "Whoever did this had a reason for killing each victim. They are all connected to their killer. That's what they have in common. I have a feeling that this grudge goes _way_ back. We're going to need to look a _lot_ deeper to find out who did this."

* * *

A/N: Yeah, it's a little short, but I'm posting the whole thing in one day, so it's not like you're being cheated. 


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: You know the drill. Oh, and I stole the purple wobblies from the A-Team.

A/N: For the record, I have no idea what the aftereffects of Thorazine are.

**Chapter 5**

When Tobias' head had cleared, he found himself in a white padded room, wearing a white scrub-type outfit, though his memory was a little hazy as to how he had gotten there. He curiously gazed around his pillowy prison. It had high ceilings, and there was a large mirror about 7 or 8 feet up on one wall.

_They're watching me_, he absentmindedly thought.

"Fine mess you've gotten yourself into," a voice behind him said.

Tobias jumped and turned around.

"Damn it, Darien! Stop doing that! And _you_ got me into this. You and your post-mortem pleas…" Tobias waved his hand vaguely.

"Looks like you've still got some of the aftereffects of the Thorazine," Darien observed.

"Is that what that was…" Tobias muttered, mostly to himself.

"But that's beside the— hey, focus!" Darien stepped closer to Tobias and waved his hand in front of his eyes. "It's not over yet!"

"It is for me," Tobias replied. "I'm kind of stuck in here, in case you hadn't noticed." Suddenly, he thought he heard something behind him. He turned, and saw only the wall with the mirror. The _one-way_ mirror. Now they'd really think he was crazy, talking to no one. "Oh, crap," he muttered.

About a minute later, a door in the other end of the room opened, and none other than Dr. Tranquillity walked in, with a file labeled 'Oxenstierna, Tobias.'

"You…" Tobias growled under his breath.

"Good evening, Mr.…um, Tobias," he said while browsing through the file. "I'm Dr. Sullivan."

"I'm sure you are."

"So, I understand you've been seeing… people?"

Tobias almost laughed. "Don't you see people? Or are you convinced the world is populated by lemurs and aardvarks?"

"I, um… what?" Dr. Sullivan stuttered.

Tobias turned and looked at Darien, gesturing toward the flustered psychiatrist. "This guy's crazy."

Regaining his composure, Sullivan began again. "Do you have a history of schizophrenia?"

"No. Can I go now?"

"I'm afraid it's not that simple."

"Sure it is. I'm not crazy, so you let me out of here."

"I can't do that. You've demonstrated that you pose a danger to yourself and others."

"Is that because I tried to rush the door?"

"Yes, that's part of it."

"Damn."

Sullivan looked down at some notes he had been jotting. "I need to go take care of some things. Just sit tight until I get back, okay?"

"Like I have a choice," Tobias muttered.

As soon as he was alone again, he turned back to Darien. "So, what now?"

"He's going to kill again," Darien said darkly.

"What, already?"

"He was almost caught last time. He has to finish before he's stopped. I think two are gonna die this time."

"Do you know when, by chance?"

"Not exactly, but I know it's soon. You have to get out of here."

"Easy for you to say." Tobias looked frantically around the room. Lacking a better idea, he darted to the end of the room opposite the door, and ran full speed at the door. He threw his whole body at it, and since it was padded too, he just bounced off of it. He jumped up and tried it again, and again. He started yelling furiously and incoherently at the damned door.

On the fifth or sixth try, the door opened when he was halfway to it. Any thought of escape was dispelled by the orderly he had decided to name Giant McHuge stepping in to block the door. Tobias stopped running and waited to see what was going on. From behind McHuge appeared Dr. Sullivan armed with a syringe. As he approached, Tobias headed backwards towards the other wall, almost running half-sideways. He picked up speed and turned to see where he was going just as he reached the far wall. He staggered backwards after his nose impacted the wall. He turned and nearly collided with Sullivan and his syringe.

"Not now, Dr. Feel-Good. I'm kinda in the middle of something."

The orderly grabbed him from behind, and held him still while Sullivan emptied the contents of his syringe into Tobias' arm. Tobias slowly sank to his knees as the orderly released him. He wanted so badly to jump up and run for the door, to escape, to stop a murderer, but that was clearly not going to happen as he slumped down against the wall.

"How long, how long will I slide…" he muttered to himself as the purple wobblies started to wobble.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: The characters are mine, the Los Angeles mall is not.

A/N: I apologize if this one's confusing, what with the whole jumping between characters thing.

**Chapter 6**

The next day, Anthony nearly ran into Vivian's office. "We've got two more."

Vivian looked up from her paperwork. "Are they connected?"

"I think so. The sheer fact that they look unrelated means that they probably are."

"What have we got?"

He set a file on her desk and opened it to reveal a stack of crime scene photos. "Howard Ingram, 46, marketing executive, looks like poison. We'll know more after the autopsy. Plus, Jonathan O'Reilly, 33, Ingram's assistant, shot in the back of the head. Looks like the killer waited around after killing Ingram, and O'Reilly came in, found the body, and was shot."

Vivian looked thoughtful for a moment. "Do you suppose that O'Reilly was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, or was he on the list to begin with?"

* * *

Tobias was formulating a plan. He had to get out of there while there was still time. A few hours ago, Darien had told him that two more were dead, but it still wasn't over yet. So, he had a plan all figured out. He was going to escape. It would be set into motion when an orderly brought in a tray of food for him. 

Twenty minutes later, the door began to open. Tobias stood behind the door, hoping, praying, that the people behind the mirror couldn't tip off the orderly, or better yet, that there was no one up there at all. He seemed to get his wish as his plan played out exactly as he had imagined. The orderly walked in, his back to Tobias, carrying a tray with something that looked like it shouldn't be eaten. He looked around the seemingly empty room with mild confusion. By the time he caught Tobias' movement in the mirror, it was too late.

Tobias delivered a wild karate chop to the back of the orderly's neck. It wasn't enough to bring him down, but it caught him off guard and made him stumble forward. It was all the opportunity Tobias needed. In a flash, he bolted from the room and down the hall. He wished he had been more cognizant during the trip to the room, because he had no real idea how to get out of the building. He skittered around a corner and grinned as he spotted a green EXIT sign above a door.

He pushed the door open. Stairs. Good. He ran down three flights two steps at a time. On the first floor landing, there was another sign advertising freedom. He cautiously peered through the small window in the door. Beyond it, he could he the lobby. That part looked familiar, at least. He nonchalantly strolled towards the front door. There was a good chance that they wouldn't even know he wasn't supposed to be down here.

He got a few glances as he passed the front desk. People started talking amongst themselves. They were figuring it out, no doubt. He resisted the urge to run until he was a good distance down the front drive. After one last glance backwards, he bolted down the street, not sure where he was headed.

* * *

Rebekah stared at the computer screen in front of her, unsure of what to do. They _had_ to find a way to connect all the victims. The only ones who had even met each other were Ingram and O'Reilly. Almost without thinking, she began a search for newspaper articles. Maybe these people had interacted at an event or something without even realizing it. 'Keywords?' the search engine asked. 

"Hmm…" Rebekah pondered that for a second. She typed in 'Hayward, MacNamara, Lambert, Ingram, O'Reilly'. She took a drink from her water bottle while she waited for the search to find results. She almost spit her mouthful of water on the screen when a small article popped up, dated 1852. She was momentarily confused as to how it had gotten on the Internet until she remembered that UCLA's History Department had been working on some project involving old news articles.

The initial shock dissipated, she looked closer at the article.

'Following last week's tragic mine accident that resulted in the death of mine owner Hiram Erikson, a new claim has been staked on the newly unowned mine. A group of six individuals set up camp on the land, claiming it as their own. The new owners are Nathaniel Hayward, Ephraim Avery, Delilah O'Reilly, William Lambert, Elias Ingram, and Duncan MacNamara. They report that the mine contains a massive vein of gold. They show no concern that the mine might cave in again.'

Rebekah stared at the article, her jaw hanging open in muted shock. The names! Except for Avery, they were all names of victims. It all began to sink in. There was going to be another murder. She jumped out her chair and ran to the doorway as she spotted Anthony walking down the hall.

"Anthony!" she called. "I figured it out! I know how they're connected!"

That got his attention, and he sprinted to look at the computer screen she was furiously pointing at. He read it twice before looking back up at her. "So the killer…"

"Is a descendant of Erikson," Rebekah finished for him.

Anthony nodded. "I'll track him down." He turned to go, then stopped as he remembered something. "Call Fairview, tell them to release Tobias."

As Anthony left, Rebekah dialed the number of the mental hospital. Upon reaching the receptionist, she said she was calling regarding Tobias Oxenstierna. After waiting for the receptionist to search through records, and having to spell Tobias' last name, she was informed, "I'm sorry ma'am, he's no longer here."

"What?" Rebekah asked.

"Seems he escaped about a half hour ago. We can't seem to locate him."

"Um… Ok. Thanks." She hung up and headed for her car.

Rebekah pulled in the drive of Fairview Mental Hospital still unsure of why she was there. She walked up to the main desk.

"Hi. I'm with the Los Angeles Crime Lab. I understand you had an escape earlier?"

The receptionist nodded. "Schizophrenic. Funny name. I hear he took down an orderly to get out of his room."

"Do you still have his personal belongings?"

She nodded again and sent an orderly to get them. He returned with a box containing Tobias' street clothes, cell phone, wallet, and the like. Rebekah picked up the whole box, and with a quick "thank you", headed back to her car. She wasn't entirely sure what she was planning to do with the box of things, but she hoped that there was something inside that would tell her where Tobias was planning on going. She sat in the parking lot for a while, peering into the box. She felt wrong looking through her friend's stuff, so she just stared at it. Suddenly a name drifted through her mind.

Avery.

There was going to be another murder, and she was sure that Tobias would try to prevent it. If she found Avery, she'd find Tobias. She quickly called Anthony.

"Any progress on the identity of our killer?"

"I think so. The DMV has record of a Jacob Hiram Erikson. We sent PD out to pick him up, but he wasn't at home or his place of work."

Rebekah took a breath. "I think he's out killing again. All the names in the article are accounted for accept for Avery." She paused, not sure how to explain the next part. "And, um, Tobias is gone, escaped. I'm sure he's trying to stop the last murder. Do we have any idea who it might be?"

"Not yet, but I'll keep working on it."

"Ok. I'm going to keep trying to find Tobias."

* * *

Tobias slowed to a walk when he felt he was far enough from Fairview. He really wished he could be wearing anything besides his white scrubs. He felt so conspicuous. On top of that, he was wandering around LA barefoot. 

Darien walked alongside him, looking nervous. "It won't be long now. He's already watching her, following her."

"Who?" Tobias asked.

Darien shrugged. "Some woman. I think she's the last one."

"So this is my last chance to catch him?"

"Uh, yeah, pretty much."

"Great."

* * *

Rebekah jumped as her phone rang. The caller ID said 'Anthony'. 

"Anything?" she asked.

"Yep, out of pure luck. I went into the break room for coffee and the newspaper was on the table. Big story, some woman talking about her ancestor's stake in a gold mine. Charlene Avery-Donahue. Her husband says she's out shopping at the mall."

"Thanks, Anthony."

* * *

Darien stopped suddenly. 

"What is it?"

He didn't answer right away. He pointed down a perpendicular street. "Head for the mall."

Tobias looked at him like he was crazy. "He's going to kill her in broad daylight? At the mall? Aren't there a _few_ witnesses?"

"Don't ask questions, just go!" Darien insisted.

Tobias started running, hoping this time he'd make it there in time.

* * *

Rebekah cruised around the mall parking lot. She didn't even know what or who she was looking for. Hopefully she'd find it before it was too late. 

Where the hell was Tobias?

* * *

Tobias slowed as he hit the mall parking lot. He turned to Darien. "Where now?" 

Darien pointed to a woman heading towards her car, parked in a less populated part of the lot. "Her."

Tobias took off running again, trying to come up with a better story, since his last attempt to save a hysterical woman didn't work like he planned, and now he was dressed like an escaped mental patient. Who in their right mind would trust him?

He quickened his pace when he saw a figure in black approaching the woman. She was twenty feet from her car, she could make it… no, she couldn't. Tobias ran as fast as he could, not noticing the car approaching the doomed woman and sinister man from the other direction.

The dark man grabbed the woman, and covered her mouth, stifling her screams as he dragged her around behind her car. Tobias kept running, vaguely aware of footsteps behind him. He reached the other side of the car where the man had the woman pinned down, with his hands squeezing her throat. Tobias came up behind them, and grabbed the man by the shoulders, pulling him up, and releasing the woman, who started crawling underneath her car.

The man turned and punched Tobias in the jaw. He staggered backwards, then returned a blow to the man's solar plexus. He doubled over and reached underneath his coat. Tobias saw the flash of metal followed by a gunshot. It took him a second to realize he was still alive as the serial killer dropped to the ground. He looked to his right, where Rebekah still had her gun trained on the spot where Jacob Erikson had stood.

"Thanks."

"Any time," she replied.


	7. Epilogue

A/N: My attempt to bring the whole thing to a close. Hope I didn't mess it up.

**Epilogue**

"See, I wasn't crazy," Tobias said with a little grin.

"I never thought you were," Rebekah insisted from her claimed corner of the break room.

"I did," Anthony said flatly. "That's why I had you committed."

Tobias looked utterly betrayed. "You ass!" he declared as he threw a French fry at Anthony.

"Children!" Vivian said sharply as she walked into the room. "Has Rebekah told you how she solved the case?"

They both stopped what they were doing to look at the redhead in the corner. "Solved?" Tobias asked. "Beyond identifying the killer?"

Rebekah nodded. "I found motive. I had to go through Erikson's stuff, since I couldn't just ask him, 'cause I, you know, gave him an impromptu lobotomy. Anyway, he had all this research on that mine, and the people who claimed it. Apparently, they had caused the cave-in that killed Hiram Erikson. He'd had a wife and child back in Oklahoma that wound up with nothing when they'd lost the rights to the mine. So, now, Jacob Erikson tracked down the descendants of the people who stole his family's fortune."

"So, none of the victims even knew why they were being killed," Anthony added.

"Darien didn't know," Tobias said quietly. "As far as he knew, he'd done nothing to piss this guy off."

"He hadn't. It was all for something that happened 150 years ago, that he had absolutely no control over," Rebekah said.

"I guess that's it then," Vivian said, somewhat wearily. "Five dead, one alive, we got the bad guy, and we know why he did it. That's all we can do on this one. It might not seem like enough, but it's a lot better than it could have been. If events had gone a little differently, we could've had six dead, and a murderer going free."

"Good thing they don't have very good security at Fairview," Tobias said thoughtfully, with a lop-sided grin.

"Speaking of which, seen any more dead people?" Rebekah asked.

"Nope," Tobias replied. "I saw Darien for a second after you shot Erikson, then he was gone."

* * *

Late that night, Tobias stared at his blank computer screen. He needed to write something, but he didn't know what. He had to sum up the strangest week of his life, somehow. So, he just started typing.

_The need to survive is a funny thing. It endures, even after death. At that point when the body gives up and the mind takes over, things get weird. In the past week, I have enlisted the help of a dead man in a murder investigation, I have spent I don't know how many days within the sterile walls of an insane asylum, and I have stopped a killer from completing his horrific vendetta._

_Sometimes, I think, we have to step beyond the realm of normal in order to do what we need to do. The boundary is invisible, and you don't know you've crossed it until you're on the other side. There, you find that the way back is not as clear as the way there. Doors close and others open, walls move and worlds collide. _

_I have found that truth can be stranger than fiction in a place closer than the Outer Limits, and down the block from the Twilight Zone. The only place that could give Los Angeles a run for its money. Where madmen can be heroes and dead men do tell tales, here on the Otherside.

* * *

_

_I heard your voice through a photograph  
I thought it up it and brought up the past  
Once you know you can never go back  
I've got to take it on the otherside _

_Centuries are what it meant to me  
A cemetery where I marry the sea  
Stranger things could never change my mind  
I've got to take it on the otherside  
Take it on the otherside  
Take it on  
Take it on_

* * *

A/N: If anyone is interested, I'm working on a story in which Tobias gets sent back to the institution. It's mildly hysterical at times. If anyone thinks that sounds interesting, mention it in a review.  
Thanks for reading. It's been fun. 


End file.
